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Zimbabwe: Black Londoners in Solidarity With Zim
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
ANALYSIS
28 April 2008
Posted to the web 28 April 2008
Harare
Those who fought in Zimbabwe's war of liberation taught us never to give up in the face of adversity.
For when the struggle appears so tough that giving up is the only option, it is then that rallying round in unity to the cause is crucial.
The massacres at Nyadzonia and Chimoio in Mozambique, for instance, were of such a grand scale that the squeamish would have quit the struggle. The Thomas Nhari rebellion was another huge setback to the struggle, but the fighting cadres and their leaders never gave up.
They might have reached the depth of their despair. The world around them might have seemed so hostile; but their pledge to hang on in there meant they survived to see some glimmer of hope when they scored successes, however modest, in the future.
Imagine their relief when they achieved some victories against the enemy soon after such tragedies! It would have given them hope that the struggle that seemed so meaningless and futile only recently, was suddenly worthwhile.
Imagine their joy at hearing, for instance, words of support from other progressive forces. It would have lifted their spirits in a big way.
It is the lifting of the spirit of a people under attack that was ringing in my head when I was listening to Radio Gallaxy last Sunday afternoon.
Radio Gallaxy is unique in two respects. First, it is a small broadcasting service targeting Black people who live in London. Second, its name, the "de-brainwashing radio station", is probably the antidote Zimbabweans need in light of the propaganda machine that is working for regime change.
Last Sunday between 1pm and 4pm, there was a "phone-in" and the subject was Zimbabwe. As you can imagine, the phones never stopped ringing. What was surprising to me, I hasten to add, is the strength of solidarity expressed by the callers, especially Black women.
It was a complete role reversal in that those who were jamming the phones with their enthusiasm to express their views were not the anti-Zanu-PF and anti-Mugabe brigade, at least the part of the broadcast that I listened to.
I heard a woman ring to ask the presenter, Bongo Tete, what natural resources Zimbabwe had. When she was given a list, the caller then pointed out that these natural resources were the reason why Gordon Brown, on behalf of Britain, was interfering in the affairs of the country.
Another Black woman was so appalled by the prospect of seeing Zimbabwe's gains lost through the elections of March 29.
"Since Mugabe is out of the Commonwealth, why did he bother with elections? Castro handed over to his brother; and they cannot tell Putin what to do. Yet they still go to Africa and point a finger. Why did Mugabe bother to have these elections," she asked?
It was a rhetorical question put forward for effect. And the effect was that yet another Black sister phoned to complain about the distorted image of Zimbabwe and Black people generally that is portrayed in the mainstream media while white people were presented as whiter than white.
This elicited an interjection from the co-presenter who asked: was it not Bill Clinton, former US President, who said he had not had sex "with that woman!" Was he not the one again who reported smoking drugs but not inhaling?
The message the caller was making was that "these people are liars". The problem, she said, was that we Black people tend to buy into these lies, which was a shame.
But she went on to say that Black people tended to fight among themselves but that they were generally not war mongers who went out to conquer other nations.
Then the caller asked why so many Zimbabweans had fled their country to come and live in the Diaspora? Again this question was asked, not in the way mainstream media would have asked the question, basically to show how bad and corrupt Mugabe was but rather to urge all Zimbabweans to "go home and rebuild your country - now."
"Don't allow people who do not have the interests of Zimbabwe at heart to dominate you," she said whilst at the same time commenting that she did not even know what Tsvangirai's policies were.
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The uniqueness of the show was that most of the callers were non-Zimbabweans though not exclusively so. For instance, the only male Zimbabwean I heard on the show was scathing in his criticism of the mainstream news media which he said had taken over our issues.
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this is rubbish, l got no time to read this junk...who wrote this junk...why do u waste our time with such rubbish. This person doesnt know what he is saying, thts it period. The time has come to open ur eyes and see...Mugabe must go!!!
echa, i have made this point before -Contrary to what you and others believe Mugabe's fan base is not only within ZANU PF. He has fans in many parts of the world because they know he is RIGHT!
peaple need to understand this is not about the british,west,war vets or black nd white its about change and remember onething they wont be life without death so change is every where even cloths we do change jobs we do change so zimbabwe is long over due for change leaving with the past deos nt help if we look back i used to right a letter to my mother and now we sms or phone so things change mugabe change cars even his wife is'nt the same everything has to change the ballot says u out u out there is... [Read Full Text]
You may want to revise the name of your organisation because you're attempting to project yourself as some kind of force for change when your name actually translates to, "Fear of Anglo-Saxons" don't be scared we mean you no harm, in fact we don't actually care. Anyone can examine the website of the radio station mentioned by the writer of the above article to find that among the things it has classified under "racist", The Commission for Racial Equality and the Oxford English Dictionary, which is a book of words in alphabetical order, how offensive. I guess the Herald isn't... [Read Full Text]
So basically your organization is the black equivalent of the AWB. And as far as you're concerned it's okay to be racist as long as you're black.
What a sad person you must be.
Because we were once colonised and enslaved does not mean we dont deserve better treatment from our leaders.
Any African dictators have used this colonialism to further humiliate thier own people.
Yes it strikes a code especially for blacks in the diaspora to hear Mugabe say he is taking the land from the whites blah blah and yet the issue is about good governance, democracy, human rights.
For the record in 2000 when mugabe murdered 5 whites in the name of land reform he murdered 200 blacks. Now add the 20 000 he murdered in Matebeland.
Fellow black brothers in... [Read Full Text]
Bradie, It is so wrong to say Mugabe murdered these people. There is always two sides to a story and you need to look at the circumstances surounding it. Firstly WHY are you and the rest of your anti-Mugabe only saying something now about something that happened 20 years ago? (sounds like a witch hunt) Secondly Zimbabwean blacks are generally non-violent and very accomodating so your white farmers that did get killed MUST have really provoked the situation. You guys carry on like a stuck record - get over it and move on. By the way your 'great' leader ian... [Read Full Text]
All I have to say, is that if Mugabe is so great, why did he lose the election? Its time for a change. Its time to stop looking at the past and move on. Give the MDC a chance. You cant have a football team lose year after year without changing the team and coach eventually. Sure bad things have happened in the past, from both sides, but bringing them up doesnt help the future of Zimbabwe.
Why not give the MDC a chance, they arent as pro-west as everyone makes out, Thats just the Mugabe goverment trying to create... [Read Full Text]
Kubatana,
I assume that you cannot see how much of a hypocrite you are, so I'll point it out to you.
You say, "WHY are you and the rest of your anti-Mugabe only saying something now about something that happened 20 years ago? (sounds like a witch hunt)'
Well, WHY do you and Mugabe go on about what the 'whites' did? That happened 30yrs ago. Sounds like a lame excuse for a failed government.
The only fans he has are those that befit economically from his pillaging of our once Great Zimbabwe.
I think you'll find that the stuck record... [Read Full Text]
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